Steve Smith's Heroics Secure Washington Freedom's Victory Over MI New York

Steve Smith's unbeaten 46 off 28 balls, featuring four fours and three sixes, placed Washington Freedom just ahead of the DLS par score when lightning and rain halted play, ensuring their win by four runs over defending champions MI New York in their MLC opener.

MI New York, put in to bat first, faced early setbacks, losing two of their top three batsmen by the fifth over. The third-wicket partnership between Ruben Clinton and Nicholas Pooran lasted only until the eighth over, when Clinton's reverse sweep attempt against Glenn Maxwell resulted in his leg stump being disturbed. Despite Pooran’s vital 44 off 30 balls, the middle-order crumbled, and it required a quick-fire 31 from 15 balls by Rashid Khan to push the team to a competitive total of 154/9.

In their chase, Freedom had a shaky start with just three runs in the first over and Travis Head being dismissed by Ehsan Adil in the second. Andries Gous, one of the USA's World Cup stars, came in but played a supporting role to captain Steve Smith. Smith, initially cautious, accelerated after hitting a four off Adil in the fourth over. In the same over, he launched a wide delivery over cover for a six. Smith continued his assault on Anrich Nortje in the sixth over, hitting a six over fine leg and a four through square leg, followed by a drive down the ground. He concluded the 22-run over with another six over square leg. Gous contributed with two boundaries off Rashid Khan, keeping Freedom ahead of the DLS par score.

The match was interrupted midway through the eighth over due to lightning, followed by persistent rain, which led to an early conclusion. Washington Freedom, at 55/1, was four runs ahead as per the DLS method when play was stopped.

 Brief Scores:

- MI New York: 154/9 in 20 overs (Nicholas Pooran 44, Rashid Khan 31; Saurabh Netravalkar 3-24, Jason Dill 3-33)

- Washington Freedom: 55/1 in 7.4 overs (Steve Smith 46) won by 4 runs (DLS Method)